Maker: Hideo Kitaoka (click to see more by this maker)Price: $374.00
Item num: 86639Blade length: 7.10 in.Total length: 12.50 in.Blade width: 1.85 in.Blade thickness: 0.15 in.Item weight: 5.70 oz.Shipment weight: 8.1 oz.Blade: Kasumi-yaki blade formed from a suminagashi jigane and shirogami hagane (Hrc 63-64)Handle: Makassar ebony and pakka woodDescription: Usuba Hocho are used for cutting meats and vegetables into extremely thin slices typical of Japanese cuisine. These blades are quite thin and should not be used on hard rind vegetables or bones.
This single-bevel knife is handmade by Hideo Kitaoka. The blade features a jigane, which is made by folding together layers of different types of carbon steels. This unique process creates a Jigane with ten exceedingly thin, alternating layers, called suminagashi or damascus. This is then forge-welded to a layer of high carbon steel (shirogami #2) and tempered to Rockwell c63 - 64. This process imparts a visual tension to the blade and a brilliant, long lasting cutting edge. Because white steel is a carbon steel, these knives must be dried after use to prevent rust or tarnish.
Traditional Japanese chef's knives differ from European-styled knives in that they are sharpened with a bevel on only one side. The opposite side is slightly hollowed. Because of this, these knives can generally be honed to a sharper edge than can double bevel knives.
The octagonal handle is formed from makassar ebony with a pakka wood ferrule. The blade comes razor sharp.